Road to Nowhere

The issue of the state’s inadequate highway infrastructure has reared its head again. Most of the issues should be well known by this time:

(1) First and foremost, to keep up with demand for roadbuilding, TxDoT needs around $4 to $5 billion a year, every year.

(2) The main source of money for roadbuilding is the state’s gasoline tax, which has not been increased since 1991. The chance that state leaders will support an increase in the tax is slim to none.

(3) The increased efficiency of new automobile engines means that drivers can go farther on less gasoline, with the result that the gasoline tax can’t provide the money that is needed to build and maintain the state’s road system.

(4) The frequently-heard argument that money from gasoline taxes should not be diverted to other uses is a phony one. Recent budgets have called for using gasoline tax dollars to fund the Department of Public Safety. If the Legislature doesn’t dip into gasoline tax receipts to fund DPS, it will use them to fund other transportation projects (such as highway maintenance).

(5) The Legislature has proposed a constitutional amendment, to be voted on by the public in November, to provide $1.3 billion for highway projects. Even so, the dollars provided by the amendment will be a drop in the bucket for roadbuilding. It costs $250,000 to build an interchange.

(6) Those opposed to the amendment argue that state leaders should not dip into the Rainy Day Fund, the state’s savings account, to build roads. But oil and gas tax revenue has been so lucrative that the Rainy Day Fund quickly replenishes itself. As long as oil and gas keep flowing, there is little reason for concern that the Rainy Day Fund could run out of money. (One argument for protecting the Rainy Day Fund is that a major hurricane or similar disaster could seriously deplete the fund.)

(7) Transportation is an economic issue. Clogged highways result in time lost sitting in traffic, making it difficult for businesses to get their goods to market.

(AP Image / LM Otero)

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HOw? By saying it’s ok to let roads crumble or to remove them altogether if they are in need of repair? Pat, your statement is a nonsequitur. The fate of one stretch of road that extends maybe one mile does not translate into a paradigm-shift for the many thousands miles of other roads and bridges that need to be maintained and repaired.

Pat

If Texas cities start tearing out barrier highways and we end the Boomer-generation’s single-minded focus on “MOAR RODES” in favor of a more multifaceted approach, TXDOT’s long-term budget could be slashed by several hundred million with little ill effect. Everybody wins: urban liberals who want less car-dependence and small-government conservatives alike. The IH-345 repair alone will cost $250 million. What if we killed four such projects over the next decade?

Jon

Deep Ellum traffic nightmare, based on the same misguided idea Austin officials held for 30 years, that if they built no east-west limited access highways across the city, nobody would ever get in their cars to try and drive crosstown. Cut U.S. 75 from I-45 and you wouldn’t get people to stop trying to get from U.S. 75 to I-45 — they’d simply use the local streets, just as they did in the late 1960s and early 70s, when the Central Expressway was long-established but had no connector through downtown to the newly-constructed I-45.

Pat

Actually–and I was as surprised by this as anybody–the traffic engineers and traffic studies unilaterally suggest otherwise. The presence of a road drives traffic, not the other way around.

Jon

Up in New York, urban rights crusaders back in the 1960s blocked urban planner Robert Moses from building two cross-Manhattan expressways to connect bridges and tunnels on the East and Hudson rivers. You can certainly make a case that having an ugly elevated expressway through both areas would be a negative for local residents, but anyone driving Canal or 34th Streets in 2014 knows that not building them didn’t make the traffic in-between the bridges and tunnels simply go ‘poof!’.

The same would be true for de-linking the Central Expressway and I-45. You can make an argument that the route would be better off being rebuilt and buried through downtown, as Interstate 10 is through Phoenix (the last main section of I-10 to be built, in the 1980s when planners knew the negative effects of elevated and ground-level highways and as a result, put it in a mile-long tunnel), but you’re just not going to make people go “Oh drat! There’s no connecting highway! I best not make the trip.”

They’ll keep driving the route and either crowd Woodall Rodgers, I-35 and and I-30 around the west side of downtown even more, or they’ll just plow through the local streets on the east side of downtown, turning those streets into day-long bottlenecks. Getting enough people off the roads headed to downtown would either require a concurrent huge boost in mass transit in the areas served by U.S. 75 and I-45 or congestion pricing, where people are taxed for driving into the downtown area during weekday business hours, using license plate cameras. Not even liberal/mass transit-rich New York is brave enough right now to do more than just talk about that step.

Pat

Again–I would have agreed with the spirit of your argument before I read the above-linked stories and studies. The professionals, the history, the data and the science point to another conclusion.

Jon

Until they actually tear the thing down, it’s going to be a hypothetical, though it would also be interesting if the X percent reduction in traffic alleged would be worth the downside of the 100-minus-X percentage of traffic that isn’t going to follow the studies and will either reroute around downtown on the limited access roads or simply plow through on the local streets, turning the west side of Dell Ellum into Dallas’ own little urban version of Breezwood, Pennsylvania.

New York State is a hellhole. Too much taxation, too much regulation, etc.,

Beerman

But, great restaurants and bars…………

Jon

Downstate’s the tail that wags the dog there — There are landowners and workers upstate who would love to be fracking the Marcellus and Utica Shale and do as well economically as the Eagle Ford or Permian Basin in Texas, along with increasing oil and gas production income to the state. But NYC residents who have their money, and don’t care if upstate stays poor, get their reps to ban the process (It’s the same NIMBY thinking that keeps any major new infrastructure project from either being built on time or at a reasonable price in New York, which is why if you’re Wendy Davis you can’t run a campaign in Texas based on themes that make donors in the Big Apple open up their wallets).

Paul, I would have thought by now after these many years that you would have learned that telling them the truth is a waste of time. The JBBs will never believe anything but their myths about “diversions from the highway fund” and “cutting out all the waste, fraud, duplication and unnecessary services.” By the way, Stuart Greenfield’s figures show that the new money may well be in excess of $2 billion (should the voters approve the transfer) because of the increased oil production.

Bill

How is paying for the DPS highway patrol a “diversion”? Seems to me that enforcing traffic laws and responding to wrecks and other emergencies is a legitimate use of highway funds.

WUSRPH

In fact the constitutional specifically provides that this money CAN BE USED for the policing of the public highways. So the diversion is perfect legal and proper. The question is whether it should fund ALL of DPS or only the highway patrol. In either case, the $1 billion it represents will have to be made up from somewhere else so there is no “savings”.

Another “diversion” is to public schools…..In fact, the constitutional specifically requires that “one-quarter” of the revenues are to go to the Available School Fund for public education.

See below:

“Art. VIII, Sec. 7-a. REVENUES FROM MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEES AND TAXES ON MOTOR FUELS AND LUBRICANTS; PURPOSES FOR WHICH USED. Subject to legislative appropriation, allocation and direction, all net revenues remaining after payment of all refunds allowed by law and expenses of collection derived from motor vehicle registration fees, and all taxes, except gross production and ad valorem taxes, on motor fuels and lubricants used to propel motor vehicles over public roadways, shall be used for the sole purpose of acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, maintaining, and policing such public roadways, and for the administration of such laws as may be prescribed by the Legislature pertaining to the supervision of traffic and safety on such roads.”Sec. 7-a. REVENUES FROM MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEES AND TAXES ON MOTOR FUELS AND LUBRICANTS; PURPOSES FOR WHICH USED. Subject to legislative appropriation, allocation and direction, all net revenues remaining after payment of all refunds allowed by law and expenses of collection derived from motor vehicle registration fees, and all taxes, except gross production and ad valorem taxes, on motor fuels and lubricants used to propel motor vehicles over public roadways, shall be used for the sole purpose of acquiring rights-of-way, constructing, maintaining, and policing such public roadways, and for the administration of such laws as may be prescribed by the Legislature pertaining to the supervision of traffic and safety on such roads; and for the payment of the principal and interest on county and road district bonds or warrants voted or issued prior to January 2, 1939, and declared eligible prior to January 2, 1945, for payment out of the County and Road District Highway Fund under existing law; provided, however, that one-fourth (1/4) of such net revenue from the motor fuel tax shall be allocated to the Available School Fund; and, provided, however, that the net revenue derived by counties from motor vehicle registration fees shall never be less than the maximum amounts allowed to be retained by each County and the percentage allowed to be retained by each County under the laws in effect on January 1, 1945. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as authorizing the pledging of the State’s credit for any purpose.

A2Z

That’s why (in the short term only), raising the gas tax is a win-win. More money for roads and more money for public schools. Yay! There is a line of thinking that would index the gas tax to construction cost increases, or some similar automatic-increase mechanism. But I doubt we’ll see that from the lege, because that would be prudent, and they don’t do prudent very well.
This is only a temporary measure at best, though. Someday in the not-too-distant future, cars will run on batteries. How will we pay for roads and schools then?

WUSRPH

There has also been some consideration of tying the tax to miles driven…This could be calculated at the annual vehicle inspection time. The problem with this approach is that it is not a paid out over time tax like the gasoline tax so it would be more noticed by the taxpayer as well as harder from them to pay if they had to pay it all at once.

John Bernard Books

I’ve never met a liberal who could understand this.
First you prioritize, second you fund the highest priorities first, 3rd you never have enough money to do everything, so where do you want to cut?
silence….crickets chirping.

John Bernard Books

crickets……still no answers from liberals because they only have one solution, bigger government and more money.

WUSRPH

Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge (Proverbs 14:7).

Beerman

Good thought. And, I have pledged to ignore the rants of that particular fool…….

John Bernard Books

Now that’s funny after Obama was elected president democrats removed God from their platform have taken to praying on Burka blog.

Gotta cut somewhere: that’s how leadership in state government is being done!

John Bernard Books

As versus the annual 10% increase in spending the way that’s how WUSRPH thinks it should be done.

John Bernard Books

In 2007 1,245,108,574 of the Texas gas taxes had been diverted to unrelated social projects.

Democrats who control the Tx House thanks to Joe Straus keep frivolously spending tax money that should be used for roads on feel good social projects for illegals.. Don’t expect that to be reported on Burka blog.

Twice this week I’ve schooled liberal WUSRPH…can I get an amen?!?
He’s in a state of shock quoting bible scriptures……how many times have you heard a liberal do that?……hahaha

Realistic Republican

And we will cut the budget, lower the sales tax, get rid of the Margins Tax, and refund the Rainy Day Fund all while our population increases and 80,000 new kids show up for school each year. Texas will be the next Lake Wobegone.

I guess Tim Dunn is going to build our roads and Tim Lambert is going to homeschool all the new kids.

Jon

Seems like the safest way to get the funds would be through some state form of the CETRZs that TxDOT allows for local entitles to fund their own transportation infrastructure. Since the funds are basically generated by the production of the oil industry and related developing businesses, it would be a way to directly channel the oil boom growth into state transportation projects (which could be justified because a large part of the growth and also the wear and tear on roads in major sections of Texas is due to the energy industry, and that’s no secret to state voters who venture down those highways).

WUSRPH

myth

noun ˈmith

: an idea or story that is believed by many people but that is not true

: a story that was told in an ancient culture to explain a practice, belief, or natural occurrence

: such stories as a group

: any thought expressed by anyone calling himself John Bernard Books.

WUSRPH

John Bernard Books:
A mythical character in the movie “The Shootist” who was a PAID GUNMAN for hire.

Unwound

Myth gives it too much credit. Its an imaginary character. He might as well call himself Batman or Eddie Haskell.

Gunslinger

…or Screech.

Beerman

Nothing mythic about a buffoon……..

John Bernard Books

or a drunk

John Bernard Books

You’re just now figuring that out? Why did he say? “I won’t be wronged. I won’t be insulted. I won’t be laid a-hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” Its a message to liberals/looters.

WUSRPH

but he also killed people for money……I guess that is a message for Proverbs 26:4 type people. Actually a much better description of you is the last line of the movie “The Professionals”

John Bernard Books

That’s what you got out of The Shootist? Nothing wrong with killing looters.

The Texas Legislature will need to deal with the infrastructure problems sooner or later.

WUSRPH

But the question is what is sooner and what is later. The State has been nibbling around the edges of this problem for years…..but has yet to show the willingness to enact any real solutions. It tried to avoid tough decisions by issuing bonds to pay for highways but has now used up most of its constitutionally allowed bonding authority and is spending more than $400 million just to pay interest on the bonds. This November the voters will get a chance to divert some of the money going into the Rainy Day Fund to highways. And next session it will end the “diversion” of gas tax money to running the Dept. of Public Safety—but will have to make up that $1 billion plus from somewhere else……All of these steps have kept the system barely functioning but still far short of the amount of money it really needs. Meanwhile, the gasoline tax has not been raised since 1991, despite all the changes in gas mileage that has reduced the tax’s take, and the auto registration fee has been left alone since 1996. You are right. “Sooner or later” something will have to be done….but the problem is that sooner keeps becoming later and later and later.

Okay, JJ, did Obama sound determined enough for you today? Other news, an additional 150 border patrol agents have been sent to South Texas. I know you will want immediate action, but sometimes have to be planned….especially if you don’t want to waste money.

WUSRPH

For the Non-JBBs of this world who prefer to know what they are talking about before they spout off, the Legislative Budget Board has a good “primer” on how the highway program in Texas is financed available at its web site. Entitled: “Overview of Selected Transportation Taxes and Fees, State Highway Fund Appropriations, and Federal Highway Funds”. It is a simplified explanation of the program that even JBB could understand. Go to the LBB website at lbb.state.tx.us , pull down the publications tag and go down the list to transportation and highways, click on it and you will see the publication.

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